


only fools

by aswarmofbees



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Humor, Light Angst, M/M, kuroko gives kagami the goo goo eyes while kise is angsting, this just in: colleen is shit at tagging
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-12
Updated: 2016-01-12
Packaged: 2018-05-13 11:23:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5705869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aswarmofbees/pseuds/aswarmofbees
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s the first time Kise is allowed to visit his old captain since he’s graduated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	only fools

**Author's Note:**

> kasamatsu being painfully oblivious when people are attracted to him is my favorite thing i'm (not) sorry kise

It’s the first time Kise is allowed to visit his old captain since he’s graduated.

He’d wanted to stop by and help him move into his and Moriyama’s shared dorm earlier on, but Kasamatsu had brushed away his offers and told him that they didn’t need it. Moriyama begrudgingly went along with Kasamatsu while whispering to Kise about it being his senpai-complex, and complained loudly when he was forced to carry a particularly heavy box.

Kasamatsu registers their presence out of some sixth sense of his, and he quickly snaps his head up to look them over. The grays of his eyes shine beneath his glasses-- _glasses?_ Kasamatsu wears _glasses?_ \--and he silently takes them in. A pen dangles between his lips, fingers loosely gripping the other end.

Kise swallows.

“It’s not good to chew on pens, senpai!” Kise chides from his place in the doorway, his voice a little high and eyes a little too intent on the open seam of his mouth where his pen is pried between.

Alright, so maybe his (huge) crush on his captain hasn’t faded in the few months they’ve spent apart. He thinks he’s already breached the ‘like’ area and slammed on the gas, and now he’s stuck spinning in some unknown territory without a clue which direction to go.

Kasamatsu rolls his eyes, but pulls the object away from his lips regardless (a motion Kise makes absolutely sure not to follow like a hawk). Kise manages to release the breath he was unaware he’s been holding in.

“Good to see you too, Kise,” Kasamatsu replies, and the low roll of his voice is more than enough to sprinkle shivers all the way down to the base of his spine. “Just give me another ten minutes--I want to finish this.”

Kise nods, not even thinking to ask what ‘this’ is, but from the way he’s focused intently on the papers before him, he can only assume it’s schoolwork of some sort, or material he’s studying.

After taking a seat adjacent to his old captain while Moriyama plops over by another desk, Kise has to wonder if Kasamatsu is actively aiming for Kise’s heart-attack and following imminent death, because his mannerisms when he studies are… well.

It’s the most inopportune moment to rekindle his fascination with necks, especially when Kasamatsu goes to slowly roll his head to work out any kinks, baring the long line of his throat for Kise’s wandering eyes. His control is tried when he stretches sideways until Kise is scrambling for an excuse as to _why_ he’s been staring at the way the muscles in his neck go taut, or when he rubs his shoulder and inadvertently pulls the fabric of his shirt with it, flashing more collarbone than he knows what to do with.

And then-- _and then_ \--he closes his book with a resounding snap, apparently done with studying, and he gets _up--_

“Are you okay, Kise?” Kasamatsu asks worriedly when Kise _(painfully)_ smashes his knee against the underside of the low table, but Kise is busy trying to think of any kind of words to grace him--since when has Kasamatsu worn _skinny jeans?_

And, okay maybe he has a thing for legs anyway (he wonders if he’s been that way before high school, before he suddenly decided knee-socks were _really_ nice--), but there’s something about the way he can clearly see the firm muscle still residing in his thighs, even months after his strenuous Kaijou days, from the way the black jeans struggle around the thickness of his upper legs, cling to his calves, and are low enough on his hips that he’d unintentionally flash his stomach and Kise can’t _breathe--_

When Kise gathers himself again, he tries to find his voice. “I--I didn’t think you were the type to wear that--that type of--clothing?” His sentence ends like it’s a question, and he scrambles for something else to say.

“That’s because _somebody_ didn’t do the laundry,” Kasamatsu snips before he can speak again, glaring pointedly at Moriyama. His friend makes a face in response, but he doesn’t bother to defend himself. “And this was a stupid joke of a present he got me last week. I wouldn’t be wearing it if I had something better.”

When Kasamatsu looks away again, neatening up his notes, Moriyama turns to face Kise and _winks._

Kise sputters loudly, choking on air.

_What is that supposed to mean?_

“At least Kasamatsu has the legs for them,” Moriyama supplies just loud enough for him, covering up some of his words with a cough. Kise stares at him, face slowly but heavily filling in with red. Considering, he goes to add, “It’s not like I’m _wrong_ \--”

_“Please stop!”_ Kise yells, face boiling as his pulse thumps loudly in his ears.

Kasamatsu looks over at them, surprised and mildly concerned when his eyes fall on Kise. Kise wants to shrivel up at the extra attention, at the way Kasamatsu’s eyes simultaneously soften and shine in worry, the crinkles between his brows deepening. “Kise, are you sick--?”

Kise all but jumps away from Kasamatsu’s hand, mostly likely to check his temperature for some type of fever. This is all too much at once--the combination of not having seen his captain and crush in a while, and now he’s dressed _impeccably_ with glasses that he never imagined could look so good on a human being, and he’s trying to comprehend how he’s never noticed Kasamatsu is an apparent _ten_ and why Moriyama is trying to flirt _for_ him and--

Kasamatsu still looks worried when Kise focuses again, nose slightly scrunched and a small frown twisting his lips. It’s really cute. _Fuck._ “I think we have some medicine somewhere…” he trails off, giving Kise another once-over before turning around to search.

“No I--I’m fine, senpai,” Kise chokes, trying his absolute best not to let his eyes trail down past his lower back, past the small, light curve of his hips. He doesn’t even want to glance at Moriyama because every time he’s tried, the other just looks one second away from bursting into laughter at all times.

Stopping Kasamatsu is all for naught it seems, because he’s already on the hunt for some sort of medicine for his nonexistent sickness. Apparently he finds something worth looking into when he spots the lowest drawer in one of their desks, and he bends over to look while Kise’s heart seizes in his chest--

“I have to go!” is all he shouts before stumbling into a desk on his way to the door, and he hears something fall loudly onto the ground followed by Moriyama’s obnoxious laughter.

To himself, he thinks that he can never ever show his face there ever again.

 

“So you _were_ sick?”

Kise winces at Kasamatsu’s voice on the other end of the phone, at the thin veil of annoyance in his words, and at how completely oblivious Kasamatsu is to--to all of this. It’s both hilarious and painful. He doesn’t know if he wants to laugh or cry--maybe both.

“Y-Yeah,” Kise lies, coughing because his throat feels a little dry, tight with emotion, but Kasamatsu seems to take it as some kind of confirmation.

The sound of him clicking his tongue at him is a very distinct sound, because it’s something he always tends to do when he’s bothered or irritated. “Kise, why did you come if you were sick? And why would you just run away if you weren’t feeling well? We could have just rescheduled for another time!”

“Sorry, Kasamatsu-senpai,” is all he can offer in his defense, which isn’t much.

The other end is quiet for a few moments, and the sound of shuffling paper pauses. “You sure everything’s okay, Kise?” Kasamatsu clears his throat awkwardly. “You can talk to me, you know.”

Kise can’t help but smile, falling backward onto his bed. “I’m okay, senpai. Thanks for worrying about me.”

“Kise.”

“I _promise._ ”

He doesn’t seem entirely satisfied, but he lets it go. Kasamatsu knows when not to push, what things not to pry into, but it doesn’t mean he’s ever happy about it. He never seems entirely satisfied until problems are dealt with and solved.

Kise grimaces. Best of luck to him on fixing this one.

(Absentmindedly, he wonders if longing for someone so much is something that will ever fade--he wonders if time will ease and erase that love caught in his heart.)

“I’ll talk to you later, senpai.”

“Get some rest, Kise. Feel better.”

His chest feels lighter at the genuine, unabashed concern in his tone, and it’s a feeling that stays with him until he falls asleep.

 

“So that’s why you haven’t gone back to visit your captain recently,” Kuroko concludes, leaning back in his seat when suddenly Kise hunches himself over the table. Kagami grunts out a ‘watch it!’ when Kise nearly knocks over his food, and makes a show of snagging his personal pile closer to himself.

“You don’t understand, Kuroko-cchi,” Kise whines into his forearm, pictures of Kasamatsu being, well, _Kasamatsu_ , flashing through his mind: Kasamatsu with his reading glasses, Kasamatsu wiping the sweat from his forehead with the hem of his shirt, Kasamatsu with that thick, ugly sweater Kise loves, the one that always falls too far on one side and bares some of his tan shoulder--

“I do a little bit, actually,” Kuroko says, pausing as Kise tilts his face slightly so he can glare woefully at his friend. How can he _understand?_ It’s not like Kuroko is in love with _his_ old captain, or gets heart palpitations when he’s close enough to admire the lines of blue streaking his eyes, or--

“I don’t think you’ve seen Kagami-kun in his red tank top--it’s quite flattering on him and I--”

Kagami cuts him off by sputtering loudly, and Kise sits up fully again, curious. “Ku--Kuroko! You can’t just go off saying stuff like that!”

Contemplating, Kise turns to stare at Kagami, eyeing the torso he can see and trying to picture him in such an outfit.

“What--What the hell, Kise!” Kagami nearly yells, covering his chest with his arms like his upper body is actually bare. “Stop that!”

And--oh, well, there’s no arguing that Kagami is attractive as well, that he’s muscular and can easily look good in a form-fitting shirt that shows off his torso, but--it doesn’t do anything for him. It comes only as an observation, that, well of course Kagami will look nice. Why wouldn’t he?

Kise hums. “Kuroko-cchi, you and I both know he’d look good--” Kagami tries and fails to intervene, completely flustered, ‘why am _I_ an _example_ ’, “--but I don’t get your point.”

“Because I feel for Kagami-kun how you feel for Kasamatsu-san,” he responds easily enough, his gaze suddenly intense and focused entirely on Kise.

Kise swallows thickly and straightens completely--the seriousness that brightens Kuroko’s eyes isn’t something he gets to see very often. Kuroko is generally subtle and inconspicuous about his emotions; quiet, unnoticed, just like the rest of him.

The moments when his soft edges blatantly sharpen are worth heeding.

“It’s very easy to lose yourself when you’re with your most important person.”

Kagami’s mouth falls open to say something, to scold Kuroko for his words, but it seems to catch up on him after a moment’s hesitation, and suddenly he’s clicking his teeth together again and turning his head to the side. “You can’t just be gross and cheesy, you’re embarrassing as hell.”

But Kise can see the happy (albeit abashed) flush of his cheeks, can see their arms move slightly, and from the way Kuroko smiles lightly and the way Kagami shoves his red face further into his opposite palm, he can only imagine they’ve easily gravitated to one another until their hands lined up, fingers naturally, effortlessly clasping together.

(Almost as if on instinct, Kise lets run the thought of their places being swapped, of Kise and Kasamatsu having fallen for and into each other like they had, put out and accepted their differences so early on until their compatibility for a deeper relationship came as easily as Kagami and Kuroko’s.

It’s a thought that runs a little too far, though, one that slips into the dark recesses of his mind and turns his wishful thinking into unguided rumination.)

Almost as if Kuroko has also accidentally let his thoughts run away from him, from his mind to his mouth, he says, harmlessly, “Kasamatsu-san is handsome as well actually--I’d be somewhat surprised if he hasn’t already gotten admirers.”

Like the flip of a switch, his quiet mourning bleeds into panic. “Has he?” The slight hysteria heightening his voice has Kuroko’s eyes widening, realizing his slip-up meant only as an innocent observation. “Is he dating someone? Wouldn’t he tell me that kind of thing? What if he’s already--!”

To the surprise of all of them, Kagami is first to intervene.

“Look, Kise,” Kagami says begrudgingly, using his unoccupied hand to snatch his food. “Even if Kuroko is right, I don’t think Kasamatsu would--Kasamatsu-san would date someone just like that.”

Kise stares at him, as does Kuroko, and Kagami gets mildly flustered at the focused attention.

He attempts to clarify. “I--I mean, he doesn’t seem like that type of guy! It’s like he needs to really know and be close with that person first, before he even considers romance and stuff.

“Aren’t you close with him?”

Kise blinks, surprised at Kagami’s apparent exceptional capability to soothe his bristling concerns. He does have a point. At Kuroko’s raised eyebrows and unblinking stare, it’s something of an anomaly to him as well.

It’s easy enough for Kise to watch the way Kuroko looks at him, at the sudden softness brimming in his eyes, at the way Kagami doesn’t even _notice_ that he’s being gazed at like he’s anything and everything important in the world _._ He simply, as if the topic has been solved just like that, turns to Kuroko and his warm expression, and offers some of his burger.

Kise wonders if that’s how he looks at Kasamatsu.

“Yeah,” he says quietly, his words unheard by the couple opposite him, “yeah I guess I am.”


End file.
